Aug. 16 several women from Ponte Vedra Beach (including Kiki Karpen and Bernadette Miron) were among the 22 League of Women Voters (LWV) volunteers who arrived at 7 a.m. at the Hyatt Riverfront Hotel to help the Vietnam Veterans of America with their 2013 National Elections.

“We were honored when asked to organize and implement elections at the Vietnam Veterans of America National Convention,” said LWV Jacksonville First Coast president.

Local chapters of the League of Women Voters throughout the country have been asked as a third-party organization to run elections wherever the Vietnam Veterans of America Conventions are held, Angela DeMonbreun added. VVA elections chairman Scott DeArman and VVA members Jill Mishel and Terry Nolan, thanked the League of Women Voters for successfully managing the elections with utmost integrity and professionalism. “Spending time with this amazing organization was truly time well spent and fulfilling,” said DeMonbreun. “We all know their heart-wrenching history, as well as our country’s heart-wrenching response.

“Volunteer opportunities such as this give us pause to reflect on history and, most importantly, to reflect on the continued progressive treatment of today’s veterans of foreign wars.”

On a personal note, as one of the LWV volunteers on Friday, the 16th, I spent the day serving my brothers. I saw the haunted eyes of my own brother, John W. Dersam, in every face. John was 19 when he enlisted in the Army and went over to Vietnam as a foot soldier. As his mean older sister who asked him at age 3 to catch a bee for me (knowing the inevitable result), I was mired in guilt and wrote John a letter a day while he was there, praying fervently that I would have the opportunity to apologize in person once again for the bee incident. When I got home from the Hyatt on Friday, I called John and thanked him, again, for his valiant service to our country.

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“A Blade of Grass,” written by Hank Maly of Ponte Vedra Beach, is the touching story of his journey through grief and despair following the death of his 15-year-old son, Daniel. Daniel’s life journey was cut short by cancer, but his legacy lives on in the lessons he taught his father about courage and caring. Young Daniel and his father grew very close during his three-year battle with cancer, praying together and sharing intimate reflections on life and death. Daniel’s insights, particularly in a conversation they had regarding the inertia of a grain of sand as compared to the living green energy of a blade of grass, were destined to help sustain his father in his battle back from alcoholism, rage and loss of faith. Maly wrote the book with the goal of inspiring others to seek healing and serenity through meditation and the powerful affirmations that have deepened his spirituality and given him an inner peace.

Maly and his wife, Maggie, live in Ponte Vedra Beach and have five children. “A Blade of Grass,” published by Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, is available at www.bookstore.balboapress.com.

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“It’s all about the Second Half” is the mantra of Grayson Marshall, president and CEO of The Locker Room Experience. Marshall will host former pro football players Mark Brunell, Marco Coleman, Tom McManus, Paul Frase and Matt Robinson, who will share their stories about the obstacles they have faced and overcome.

Marshall, a legendary basketball player at Clemson University, is now an ordained minister, a motivational speaker and lifestyle coach who has gathered together a powerful panel for positive change. “I want to show people how to position themselves for the second half mentally and emotionally,” says Marshall. “Some of the smartest and even most successful people are not sure how to make transitions in their lives. I am here to give them strategies that can be utilized daily.”

“The Blitz is On — You Better Have An Audible!” is being held at Celebration Church Deerwood Campus, 10302 Deerwood Park Blvd., Jacksonville. The event is from 2 to 6 p.m. Sept. 14. Registration for the event, at $25 per ticket, can be made at www.TLRExperience.com or call 635-6585.